The Edgewater doctor accused of killing his wife in a double stabbing earlier this year has been preparing to move personal and shared assets to an overseas bank account before his in-laws have "a chance to get it," according to jail call transcripts submitted in court.
Dr. James Houston, a former healthcare executive, has been held at the Jennifer Road Detention Center since late September, nearly two months after authorities found him and his wife Nancianne Houston bleeding out in an apartment along the South River.
Police said the couple had separated and were working through a "contentious" divorce at the time of the stabbing on Aug. 9, the doctor's 58th birthday.
A detective described their separation as involving millions of dollars in assets, though how much belonged to the wife is unclear. In divorce filings before her death, Nancianne Houston argued she made less money than her husband, who worked as a pain management and anesthesiology director at MedStar Health until December 2023. Before then, he served in the military for 25 years.
Some assets are shared, however, such as the couple's million-dollar home in Edgewater. Even so, in an Oct. 5 call explaining the overseas trust, Houston said the potential money from the home's sale would be out of the jurisdiction of a lawsuit because, "If my name's not on it, I can't be sued for it."
"It's a step-wise program," Houston said in the submitted transcript. "That's the same thing with the money that's in the bank account. All that needs to be wired over at some point, but, in the meantime, we have to pay the bills first."
Charged with first-degree murder, Houston has also been engulfed in legal battles with Nancianne Houston's family since his arrest, unsuccessfully fighting for custody of his young daughter and access to his wife's estate.
After a magistrate determined the child was "in imminent risk of harm" living with Houston's girlfriend in the waterfront apartment, the state awarded custody to Amelia Rando, Nancianne Houston's sister who moved to Maryland with her mother, Nancy Hodanic, to care for the young girl.
Less than a week later, considering arguments from Rando's attorneys that Houston killed his wife for financial benefit, Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Elizabeth Morris blocked him from managing her assets until the end of his criminal case.
The circuit court's powers, at that stage, are limited in deciding who can be a fiduciary, or trustee, of an estate. As such, Morris could only extend a temporary restraining order against Houston that was set to expire at the end of September.
Rando's legal team continued to argue, though, that the nature of the crime should be enough to disqualify Houston entirely from managing his wife's estate, and on Nov. 8, the county Orphans' Court removed him as its personal representative. The court named Rando as his replacement.
The assets and property considered by the Orphans' Court are different than what is at stake in the circuit court case. While the probate court deals with items named and passed in accordance with a written will, non-probate items, like a jointly owned house or insurance policy, may require more litigation.
Though Houston, as of Tuesday, has not appealed the Orphans' Court's decision, he quickly challenged the circuit court's ruling. When his first motion failed in early November, he filed an appeal Thursday through the Appellate Court of Maryland, according to the Maryland Judiciary.
Attorney Jonathan Pasterick, who is representing Rando with Samuel Brown, declined to comment Tuesday.
Three attorneys for Houston did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Presenting the transcripts in court filings last month, however, Rando's legal team framed the overseas bank account as a "fraudulent nesting scheme" and a "consequence" should Houston be allowed to manage any of his wife's assets.
"His counsel has told this Court, in no uncertain terms, that this is acceptable and that this Court has NO POWER to prevent it," they wrote. "We respectfully disagree."
In the three excerpts submitted in court, taken from jail calls made in early October, Houston describes his "business plan" as a limited liability corporation, where he is the only board member, that will open a bank account. Once it is established and a routing number is provided, wire transfers can be made from one bank to another.
Giving directions on where to find binders and files in his office, Houston said the LLC could invest in a start-up company, purchase a rental property, buy stocks or even a car wash, anything that could benefit his family.
On Oct. 8, according to court documents, Houston told an unnamed person over the phone that he wants "to get everything sold ... and moved into a Trust" during his criminal proceedings, "before Amelia [Rando] has a chance to get it."
If a judgment is made against him in the civil case, Houston said, he wants to be sure that "the money's already gone" and he would have to declare bankruptcy.
"So that's the business plan," he said. "I don't want my legacy going to Amelia or to Nancy."